Heartland Park

Heartland Park
is a facility which includes a
multiple-configuration Road Course
and a 3/8 mile clay oval which was added for the 2001
racing season after a brief experiment with a temporary
dirt oval located on the drag-strip.
For 2006, a large asphalt pad was built in the infield
for use by SCCA Solo programs; this pad is now the home
of the SCCA Solo Nationals, which for several years
previously had been held at Forbes Field, just to the
north of Heartland Park.

Heartland Park is located just
south of Topeka, Kansas. The track is used by the
SCCA,
IMSA,
AMA,
IKF,
NASCAR,
ASA,
and
ARCA.
There are 4 road course
configurations that are regularly used, including the 2.5 mile
"Grand Prix" circuit and the 1.8 mile "Full NASCAR
circuit", used by ARCA, ASA, SCCA, and NASCAR.

In 2006, the SCCA
Runoffs (the Sports Car Club of America's national championship
in Club Racing) moved to Heartland Park.
The first year's event was generally well received, with
a few understandable first time glitches.
It is likely that changes will be made to turns 1 & 2 and
turn 8 for 2007 to address some of the issues.

The contract
between Heartland Park and the SCCA is for 3 years, but usually
these contracts are renewed a number of times. Typically the
runoffs are held at the same track for 15 to 20 year stretches.
This
Link
provides a copy of a letter from a member of the SCCA BoD and an
article from a Topeka area newspaper on the subject.

The oval has 8 degrees of banking in 90 foot radius
turns, with 6 degrees of banking in the straightaways.

The original version of this page was supplied by Kris B. Mandt.
Since 2004, major updates have been
provided by Guy Watney, Kansas City Region SCCA.

When Heartland Park first opened in
August 1989, it was the first major new motorsports
facility to have been built
in the United States for over 20 years.
Although it is better known for its drag
strip than the road course,
a number of professional racing series have visited the track,
including IMSA, SCCA World Challenge, Trans-Am, ASA, Nascar Craftsman
Trucks and, most recently, the Miata Cup.
The track is mainly used by SCCA Club
Racing and various marque clubs.
Owing to persistent financial difficulties, the
road course was neglected for several years
and there were serious doubts about its survival.
In 2003, the track was bought by Ray Irwin,
owner of Blackhawk Farms Raceway and committed road-racer,
who has instituted a program of major renovations of the facilty.
These include re-routing the track so that it no longer uses the
drag strip (which was extremely treacherous when wet),
enlarging the paddock, construction of new timing, maintenance and concession
buildings, garages and shower facilities,
complete re-surfacing of the track and generally improving
the amenities for racers and spectators.

The first 3/8 mile dirt oval operated in 1999 and 2000,
and was called Martin Cat Power Speedway.
A different 3/8 mile dirt oval operated from April 21st, 2001
through 2002 under the name O'Reilly Auto Parts Motor Speedway.
This track reportedly reopened in 2006, and is currently
refered to as the Heartland Park Dirt Track.

From Topeka

Take South Topeka Blvd south, past Forbes Field,
to Gary Ormsby Drive.
Turn east (left) and follow the road to Gate E. Turn
right and the registration building will be ahead of you.

From Kansas City

Take I-70 to Topeka,
then I-470, heading towards Wichita. Leave I-470 at exit 177 (South
Topeka), get onto South Topeka Blvd (IMMEDIATELY after the toll booth, on your
right: use the right-most toll booth and watch for vehicles using the automatic
K-Tag lane) heading south, and follow the directions above.

From Wichita

Take the Kansas Turnpike to
exit 177 (South Topeka), get onto South Topeka Blvd, heading south,
and follow the directions above.

Access to the track from the major
highways is good.
The entrance to the track is under a bridge, so it is possible
to enter and leave the track while races are in progress.
There is ample paved paddock space and permanent restrooms,
but presently no showers. Some electrical
hook-ups are available on the west side of the paddock. Camping and pets are
permitted (pets must be kept on a leash at all times). A number of different
grades of race gas are available from self-service,
credit-card operated pumps.
Concession stands and a souvenir shop are open on most race weekends,
for limited hours.
An O'Reilly Auto Parts Store, which carries a larger-than-usual selection
of racing-related items, is located on the east side of South Topeka Blvd just
south of I-470.

The false grid is located on the
west side of the paddock.
The new pit lane is rather narrow and enters the track
on driver's left close to Turn 0.
Pit-in is reached by going straight,
rather than turning right, at Turn 12.
Sound control for SCCA events is on driver's
left just before Turn 9.
Tech and impound are generally located in the southwest
corner of the paddock, close to Turn 0.

The track has good access from major highways.
There is ample space for RV parking and plenty of grass for those who
wish to camp out. For most Club events, there is no designated worker parking
area. There are also a number of inexpensive motels and eating establishments
within a few miles of the track.
The corner stations are well equipped and have
large gazebos.
Being located in Kansas, the weather is highly changeable, so it
is as well to come prepared for anything.

There are two differing Hot Lap presentations available.
The first is a recent version provided by Chris Ingle
describing the course as it appeared in mid-2006.
The second is a slightly older version provided by Guy Watney,
based on the course through the mid 2000s.
The course was extensively reconstructed between the writing
of these two versions.

Hot Lap by Chris Ingle, 2006

As of September 2006: Overall HPT is a fairly simple track, slow,
nearly glass smooth with low curbs. It's relatively safe,
but is in need of more tire barriers due the large amount of concrete
walls around the entire facility. They aren't exactly
close to the track itself, but if you go off, out of control, at high
speed, on wet grass, the next stop will be painful. The amenities of
HPT are very good, well marked, and improving as the Runoffs get
closer. There is more than enough paved paddock area which is
slightly slanted to allow for water runoff. Because of the
probability of high winds there, it's best to paddock in an
East-West direction.

The track itself is simple to learn and no real surprises. There are
only two small elevation changes of note: turns A and #7. The curbs
are really too low, which encourages drivers to drop wheels off at the
apexes to straighten out the turns even more. It's
essential to use the curbs here, but hopefully HPT will put something
in the grassy area to discourage drivers from doing that. It simply
throws dirt, gravel, grass, etc. back onto the track.

As you head up the front straight, keep your eyes well ahead and up
and run up the hill toward turn A on the left side. The pit lane exit
will be on your left and marked with a double-white transition
line/barrier. I tried to put my left side tires as close to those
lines as possible without crossing. This gives a straighter shot over
the rise in the hill (turn A). As you crest the hill, put your right
side tires over the curbing and then aim slightly left for a
comfortable turn-in point for #1 which is a right hander. I hit
around 130 mph here so you need to get the car as straight as possible
for the slightly down-hill braking zone. You'll need to
brake harder than you think, but you are still turning slighly!
Downshift 4-3 before the right turn thru #1. Apex late because this
will set you up for the left-hand turn #2 and a small straight. Both
#1 and #2 are 90 deg turns, so use as much of the curbing as possible.

Unwind the wheel out of #2 and stay in 3d gear up to the long 180 deg
left-hand turn #3. It's banked a little which makes it
faster than it looks. You'll have to experiment on
different entry points and find where your car sticks the best. I
found that entering the turn 2/3rds up the track and slowly bringing
it down to the inside apex curbing worked best for me.
It's a very late apex! Apply as much power as you can and
unwind the wheel coming out of the corner. I do a very late apex and
don't track out quite all the way, but am at full throttle
coming out - still in 3d gear. Move back to the left about
2/3-3/4 of the way to get set up for #4.

Turn #4 is a fast right-hand turn, so you want your momentum going
straight on entry and NOT going to the left. Although going out wider
will give you more room to negotiate the corner, you don't
want your momentum going to the left while you are trying to turn
right. In my opinion, it's better to give up a little in
turn #4 for a faster exit from turn #3. Turn #3 is a faster corner so
you can gain more there. Ensure to use all the apex at #4 and track
out appropriately. Get the car settled and straight quickly because
you now have to hammer the brakes for a tight right-hand turn #5.

Turn #5 is slow, but I'm still in 3d gear. Use all the
apex and track out to the very edge of the tarmac. Begin moving to
the right quickly to get set up for yet another tight corner #6.
Brake very hard here and downshift 3-2. It's a slow
left-hander with the exit of the corner moving slightly uphill. You
can use 3d, but the car will bog down! It's easy to miss
your braking point here - so don't. It leads to
a long straight so you really need to get it right. Trail braking on
virtually all of these corners will help the front end stick and allow
you to rotate the car adequately. Once you come out of #6, shift 2-3
and get ready for turn #7.

Turn #7 is a very fast, uphill, left-hand corner that is one of the
few pucker-factor turns on this track. Just after you shift to 3d,
turn in under power and use all that apex. The curbing is still low
and the bumps don't upset the car if you have decent
shocks. The corner flattens out a bit as you go thru it and the car
tends to slide around. Control the oversteer out of the corner by
tracking out all the way. Shift 3-4. Quickly check your
gauges - head and eyes up looking at #8.

Turns #8 and #9 are just a chicane with an expanding apex/radius. #8
itself is a very sharp, left-hand turn and it is also easy to miss
your braking markers here. Heel-toe 4-3 in the braking zone, use a
late apex, all of the inside left curbing and then put your right side
tires over the curbing which starts turn #9. This is a bad area for
people to run off track or drop their wheels so be careful about
debris on track. It will be slick. Apply the power gently through
the right-hand #9 and be prepared for snap oversteer due to different
sealants on the tarmac and the previously mentioned debris on track.
Get on power as soon as you dare and unwind the wheel mindful of the
debris. Your left tires will most likely run over the next set of
curbs on the left side of the track. If you haven't
noticed it yet, this track has some serious transitions -
better have a balanced car! The curbs again are low and
shouldn't upset the car. Shift 3-4 once the car
straightens out some. Your brakes will be cooking at this point!
Check your gauges.

Turn #10 is the 2d of the pucker-factor corners and you'll
have to make some compromises on the next two turns. #10 is a very
fast left-hander. I downshift 4-3 and turn in earlier than you might
expect with my left side tires on the curbing as far as possible.
Power thru the turn and track out about 2/3 - ?? of
the way. That allows you to carry lots of speed thru here but still
get thru the next right-hand turn #11 in good shape.

Once thru #10 and the car straightens out, nail the brakes again and
trail brake the entry to #11, using all of the inside curbing.
Throttle thru the corner and aim straight at #12. Nail the brakes and
either stay in 3d or smoothly heel-toe shift 3-2. I've
tried both and am not convinced one way is quicker than the other. I
don't try to swing the car back to the right for turn #12
because I want to use a straight braking/shifting zone and I
don't want my momentum heading to the right before I turn
left. Swinging out wide would also set yourself up for another racer
to pull an inside pass.

I just hug the inside of the left-hand #12. If you stayed in 3d,
you'll be amazed how early and how hard you can plant your
throttle foot. If you downshifted to 2d, you'll have to
watch power-on oversteer. Either way, don't let the car
drift out too far. Try to stay tucked in fairly tight as you round
the corner so you'll be set up for #13 and #14 (more
transitions).

Brake hard for the right-hand #13 and if you aren't in 2d
gear, downshift smoothly 3-2. Trail brake and late apex #13. Try to
stay to the right upon exit so you get a better entry into 14 and for
the following front straight.

Brake hard again for the left-hand #14. Trail brake the entry and the
car will rotate nicely over the left side apex curbing. Power out of
the corner as hard as you can controlling the oversteer. You can
either drift out over and wide of the pavement dimples and rejoin the
racing surface where the two pieces of tarmac meet or you can stay
tighter in - electing to not drift out so far. The benefits
of drifting out is that you control the oversteer more and are capable
of putting more power down. The consequences are that you are now
using much more pavement, traveling further, and taking more time.
I'm not convinced that either line is any better than the
next. You'll have to experiment with your car and see
which feels better to you.

By now, your brakes are smoking hot. There's just simply
not been enough straight-away anywhere to cool them off. To go an
entire session (or race), may require some brake management and you
may not be able to use them 100% each time. Keep that in mind if the
pedal starts to get a bit long.

I tested on both Thursday and Friday and could run consistent 52s in
the heat with old tires on a full fuel load. The track seemed
to get quicker as the weekend went on and more rubber laid down

Overall - C+ track that takes lots of seat time to get fast.
The track will get faster as more rubber gets laid down. Hope
this helps!

Hot Lap by Guy Watney, early-to-mid 2000s

This is written for the courses as they are
presently configured.
As is pointed out elsewhere, the track is undergoing major
upgrading, and this section will be updated as the work proceeds.

2.1 mile Modified NASCAR course

Beginning on the front straight, Turn 0 is a very fast left-right
combination, with the apex of the right invisible over the crest of a
fairly steep hill, which can make the car rather light. (Turn 0 is so
called because it made its apperearance when the front straight was
relocated off the drag strip. To avoid re-numbering all the stations,
the new first turn was named Turn 0.) It is important to keep as far
to the right as possible at the crest of the hill to avoid being
pushed out onto the grass on driver's left and to avoid slower cars
leaving the pit lane on driver's left.

Turn 1 is a simple, slow left hander.
The only difficulty is getting rid of all the
speed you've accumulated without
drifting too far to the right on the turn exit since you will need to get over
to the left for the right hander at 5.
Turn 5 is a simple, late apex right turn.
It is important watch for people trying to outbrake you to your right.
Turn 6 is a very slow left hand turn: apex late and
get on the gas as soon as possible,
since from 6 to 8 is essentially a straight with a curve in it.
Turn 7 is a flat-out left.
The left-right combination at 8 is hard to get right. In my opinion,
give up any speed you need to when entering the left-hander in order to get
set up properly for the right. If you are being closely followed, you might
want to approach the left a little more towards the middle of the track than
usual, in order to give your competitor less room. When exiting the right, keep
as far to the right as you can,
since the left side of the track can get slippery
with dust and marbles.
Turn 9 is a simple flat-out left and over the bridge
towards 10.
Watch for the yellow lights, which perform the function of a yellow
flag.
(Note to drivers of powerful, evil-handling cars: Please do not blow by
better-handling small cars going over the bridge and then sit like a cowpat in
the middle of the road between 10 and 14. They can do this bit quicker than
you, and you will get rear-ended.) Apex the left at 10 fairly late and,
again, try to avoid drifting out too far to the right. The right between 10
and 11 is best handled as an early apex turn: carry as much speed as you can
through it and aim for the apex of 11. You will be able to pass cars that are
too far over to the right, trying to late-apex 11 (which is pointless, since
you're virtually stationary anyway).
Crawl round 11, hugging the kerb, get over
to the left to late-apex the right at 12 and,
immediately, the left at 14 (there
is no longer any straight between 12 and 14) and back onto the main straight.

1.8 Mile NASCAR course

This is essentially the same as for
the 2.1 Mile course, except that you can exit Turn 1 faster as you need to be
over to the right for the left-hander at 7a. Be careful when going through 7a:
you are going fairly quickly, and it can bite.